The agency will officially begin its oversight and regulatory work Thursday. Its role is to be a government watchdog for mortgages, credit cards, and other forms of lending.
“Richard Cordray has spent his career advocating for middle-class families, from his tenure as Ohio’s attorney general, to his most recent role as heading up the enforcement division at the CFPB and looking out for ordinary people in our financial system,’’ Obama said in a statement.
The financial industry lined up against Warren. Bankers said a Warren-run agency would restrict new products just when companies seek to replace profits squeezed by the financial rules.
But Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama, the top Republican on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, said Republicans would block Cordray as well unless Obama seeks changes in the agency.
“Until President Obama addresses our concerns by supporting a few reasonable structural changes, we will not confirm anyone to lead it,’’ Shelby said. “No accountability, no confirmation.’’
Cordray’s elevation from enforcement chief to director raises a separate concern for the industry: Some fear the agency will launch early enforcement actions designed to raise its public profile. Treasury officials said that’s unlikely, because the agency’s enforcement division is making key decisions about policy and procedure.
Cordray, 52, is considered a Warren ally and has been working with her as director of enforcement for the agency.
Republicans fought fiercely against the creation of the bureau last year and have been trying to place restrictions on the agency. In May, all Senate Republicans joined in a letter to Obama threatening to withhold their support for any nominee to the position if the White House didn’t seek significant changes to the agency.
